I've got the enchanting table with all the bookshelves around it. My method is to check the LVL 3 enchantment and if it's not silk touch I'll throw a LVL 1 enchantment on a pick axe, just to cycle the enchantments, and try again. I've enchanted about 20 pick axes so far and have yet to see silk touch.
The enchanting table shows one of the enchantments on an item, but if you actually enchant an item at level 3, there's a decent chance it will get more than one enchantment on it. Sometimes when the enchantment showing is Unbreaking III or Efficiency III or IV, the pick will also get Silk Touch (or Fortune II or III), sometimes all the way up to Silk Touch, Unbreaking III, and Efficiency IV all on the same pick.
If you want to reliably get Silk Touch, the best way is to use an enchanted book, although that requires its own lengthy process to get. You can catch a whole bunch of books with fishing rods and hope some have silk touch, you can find and open a crapload of treasure chests in dungeons etc., or you can breed up a bunch of librarian villagers and hope one of them sells silk touch books. On the bright side, once you DO find a villager who sells silk touch books, you can get an arbitrarily large number of them quite easily, and since Silk Touch only counts as a first-level enchant, the books are often quite chap, like only 6 emeralds each.
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"I think I'm starting to like this `programming' thing. It's about four times as fun as shaving." -- Notch, June 12, 2011
If you get a maxed fishing rod (or at least one with Luck of the Sea III), then an AFK fishing farm or just fishing in general can provide a book with Silk eventually.
Thanks. I've used dozens of levels on LVL 1 enchantments, maybe I should just start throwing LVL 3 enchantments on and crossing my fingers.
Yeah, there's really not that much point in doing LVL 1 enchantments, other than to reset the table. Even less-than-ideal LVL 3 enchanted goods can usually be eventually combined in an anvil to make a near maxed-out enchanted item.
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"I think I'm starting to like this `programming' thing. It's about four times as fun as shaving." -- Notch, June 12, 2011
One strategy that also helps longterm is to check the available enchantments for each class of items for several levels of bookshelves each time one uses the table.
This won't help get silk touch on a pick faster, but will tend to decrease the number of 'useless' enchanting that is done.
As an example, even if one currently has no need, Respiration3 on book is likely to be a better investment than Efficiency2 on a stone pick as a means of resetting the table enchants.
One also needn't check every level of bookselves as small jumps are often needed to change the offerend enchants.
The design shown HERE , remains a good (low-tech) way of accomplishing this.
Additionally, if one does much fishing (auto-, AFK-, or manual) one can skip bows and fishing rods as ones needs will likely be met from those caught.
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"Why does everything have to be so stoopid?" Harvey Pekar (from American Splendor)
WARNING: I have an extemely "grindy" playstyle; YMMV — if this doesn't seem fun to you, mine what you can from it & bin the rest.
Oh yes. I have a chest next to my enchanting table/bookshelves with a complete set of enchantables (all armor types, books, pick, sword, bow, crossbow, fishing rod, trident) and whenever I hit 30 XP levels, I grab a complete set and 3 lapis lazuli and go to the table. Before I enchant anything, I check everything to see which is the best offer. Only if nothing looks good do I grab a pair of leather pants (had to buy a bunch to open up pre-1.14 leatherworker villagers looking for cheap saddles) and enchant them with whatever is on offer as a way to reset the table. I don't bother with testing it with one less bookshelf or anything, but I check every type of enchantable looking for the most useful enchants. Unless I'm just getting started with enchanting, I am rarely looking for one specific enchantment on one specific type of gear, I usually pretty quickly get to the point of making backup gear to store against the eventuality that I fall into the End Void or something and lose a complete set of gear. One can always find a use for another Silk Touch or Fortune 3 pick, if only as a backup, but one can also always make use of a good Power V bow or a highly enchanted piece of diamond or iron armor.
Speaking of which, the next 1.14.3 update apparently is gonna revert back to the various types of Protection no longer being able to be put on the same piece of armor, so make your Protection IV/Fire Protection IV/Blast Protection IV/Projectile Protection IV diamond leggings and chestplates now while you still can. It's like that time they made Infinity and Mending incompatible on bows all over again.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"I think I'm starting to like this `programming' thing. It's about four times as fun as shaving." -- Notch, June 12, 2011
I've got the enchanting table with all the bookshelves around it. My method is to check the LVL 3 enchantment and if it's not silk touch I'll throw a LVL 1 enchantment on a pick axe, just to cycle the enchantments, and try again. I've enchanted about 20 pick axes so far and have yet to see silk touch.
Is there a better way?
The enchanting table shows one of the enchantments on an item, but if you actually enchant an item at level 3, there's a decent chance it will get more than one enchantment on it. Sometimes when the enchantment showing is Unbreaking III or Efficiency III or IV, the pick will also get Silk Touch (or Fortune II or III), sometimes all the way up to Silk Touch, Unbreaking III, and Efficiency IV all on the same pick.
If you want to reliably get Silk Touch, the best way is to use an enchanted book, although that requires its own lengthy process to get. You can catch a whole bunch of books with fishing rods and hope some have silk touch, you can find and open a crapload of treasure chests in dungeons etc., or you can breed up a bunch of librarian villagers and hope one of them sells silk touch books. On the bright side, once you DO find a villager who sells silk touch books, you can get an arbitrarily large number of them quite easily, and since Silk Touch only counts as a first-level enchant, the books are often quite chap, like only 6 emeralds each.
Thanks. I've used dozens of levels on LVL 1 enchantments, maybe I should just start throwing LVL 3 enchantments on and crossing my fingers.
If you get a maxed fishing rod (or at least one with Luck of the Sea III), then an AFK fishing farm or just fishing in general can provide a book with Silk eventually.
Stay fluffy~
Yeah, there's really not that much point in doing LVL 1 enchantments, other than to reset the table. Even less-than-ideal LVL 3 enchanted goods can usually be eventually combined in an anvil to make a near maxed-out enchanted item.
One strategy that also helps longterm is to check the available enchantments for each class of items for several levels of bookshelves each time one uses the table.
This won't help get silk touch on a pick faster, but will tend to decrease the number of 'useless' enchanting that is done.
As an example, even if one currently has no need, Respiration3 on book is likely to be a better investment than Efficiency2 on a stone pick as a means of resetting the table enchants.
One also needn't check every level of bookselves as small jumps are often needed to change the offerend enchants.
The design shown HERE , remains a good (low-tech) way of accomplishing this.
Additionally, if one does much fishing (auto-, AFK-, or manual) one can skip bows and fishing rods as ones needs will likely be met from those caught.
Oh yes. I have a chest next to my enchanting table/bookshelves with a complete set of enchantables (all armor types, books, pick, sword, bow, crossbow, fishing rod, trident) and whenever I hit 30 XP levels, I grab a complete set and 3 lapis lazuli and go to the table. Before I enchant anything, I check everything to see which is the best offer. Only if nothing looks good do I grab a pair of leather pants (had to buy a bunch to open up pre-1.14 leatherworker villagers looking for cheap saddles) and enchant them with whatever is on offer as a way to reset the table. I don't bother with testing it with one less bookshelf or anything, but I check every type of enchantable looking for the most useful enchants. Unless I'm just getting started with enchanting, I am rarely looking for one specific enchantment on one specific type of gear, I usually pretty quickly get to the point of making backup gear to store against the eventuality that I fall into the End Void or something and lose a complete set of gear. One can always find a use for another Silk Touch or Fortune 3 pick, if only as a backup, but one can also always make use of a good Power V bow or a highly enchanted piece of diamond or iron armor.
Speaking of which, the next 1.14.3 update apparently is gonna revert back to the various types of Protection no longer being able to be put on the same piece of armor, so make your Protection IV/Fire Protection IV/Blast Protection IV/Projectile Protection IV diamond leggings and chestplates now while you still can. It's like that time they made Infinity and Mending incompatible on bows all over again.